


Housewarming

by thenshe_appeared



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27031948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenshe_appeared/pseuds/thenshe_appeared
Summary: Open Heart: Book one, chapter 6Re-write of the housewarming party from Bryce's perspective because that scene could've done with way more sexual tension."Bryce spots her the minute she walks through the door. It’s like his brain has some kind of alarm on it for when she’s around. He doesn’t know when that started, but he doesn’t really care. He makes his way over to her, she’s struggling through the crowd with the keg, and he can already feel the smile on his face grow wider as he gets nearer."
Relationships: Bryce Lahela/Main Character (Open Heart), Bryce Lahela/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 12





	Housewarming

**Author's Note:**

> I’m replaying Open Heart book 1 because I miss it & can’t stop thinking about the housewarming party. Did anyone else think this beer pong scene could’ve been more sexually charged? No? Just me? Oh well, I wrote it anyway.

He spots her the minute she walks through the door. It’s like his brain has some kind of alarm on it for when she’s around. He doesn’t know when that started, but he doesn’t really care. He makes his way over to her, she’s struggling through the crowd with the keg, and he can already feel the smile on his face grow wider as he gets nearer. 

She looks up as he takes a handle of the keg and lifts it, she looks up in surprise which quickly turns to a smile. 

“Lemme help you with that. I was wondering where you were!” 

“At the hospital, getting puked on. Again.” She looks tired and runs a hand through her hair, but doesn’t stop smiling. Bryce feels his heart rate quicken because she’s smiling at  _ him _ , and god she’s beautiful. 

“I love when you talk dirty.” She rolls her eyes, but still smiles at him. 

“At least one of us does. Give me a minute to get showered and changed.” 

Bryce deposits the keg in the kitchen and it’s immediately swarmed by the other partygoers. He fills up two cups and heads over to the door Casey disappeared through. Leaning against the wall, he takes a sip and watches as the room fills up even more. 

It’s not long before Casey walks out of the door and he’s just taken a sip of his drink, which is really unfortunate because he almost chokes at the sight of her. He takes a moment to recover and then looks back at her where she’s stood, watching him. His eyes trail slowly down her body and he can’t help himself, the words just tumble out of his mouth, “Oh  _ damn. _ ” 

He can’t even understand what it is that has his brain short circuiting. Is it the tight jeans, the slinky red top that dips low, the thin straps that he wants to grab with his teeth and pull away from her soft shoulders? He feels a little light headed and takes another swig of his drink.  _ Pull yourself together, Lahela! _

“Problem?” She’s smirking at him and he wants to kiss the smug look off her face. 

“Just admiring the transformation.”

“Are you saying I looked terrible before?” 

“I’m saying you look  _ killer _ now.” 

He holds out a cup to her and she takes it, their fingers grazing. She smiles and then goes to walk past him, pausing when she’s close enough to whisper in his ear, “Good answer.” She smiles as he looks down at her. “I need to see a doctor about some shots.” 

Bryce downs the rest of his drink, “I think I’m due for some of those myself. Lead the way!” 

She runs her index finger over his hand and he can’t look away from her sparkling eyes. She links her finger with his pinky finger and gives him a small tug, walking towards the sofa where Jackie is holding court with other medical interns, a bottle of tequila in her lap.

He watches as Jackie takes in Casey’s outfit, biting her lip. He squeezes the finger she still has hooked around his and relishes in the feeling of knowing everyone is thinking about how good she looks. 

He takes a shot from Jackie and throws it back. Casey and Jackie do the same, then turn to meet Sienna’s stuck up boyfriend. Bryce watches the scene unfold, grimacing at the words coming out of Wayne’s mouth. 

As they walk away, he whistles low. “Quiet, Bryce.” 

He looks down at Casey incredulously, “I didn’t even say anything!” 

She squeezes his finger this time, then pulls away to grab another drink when Elijah comes over, “Casey! You up for a game of beer pong? I’ve never played before!”

Bryce smirks, “Nah, I think she’s chicken.” 

Casey straightens up at Bryce’s words and looks at him, an eyebrow cocked. She lowers her drink from her lips, stands back and looks him up and down. He feels his stomach swoop at her lingering stare. She smiles as they lock eyes again, “You’re on, Lahela.” 

He winks and walks away, heading to the table to set up the game. She follows shortly after and when she reaches the table she looks at Elijah. “Let’s do this.” 

Elijah grins, “I might be new, but I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna win.” 

“Oooh, cocky!” Bryce can’t help himself. He calls over another surgical intern to join them. 

“Casey, you pick teams.” 

She looks between Elijah and Bryce, tapping a finger to her lips. Finally she turns to him, straight faced but eyes glimmering, “Lahela. you’re with me.” 

“Good call. Number one overall draft pick!”

He follows her to their side of the table and she picks up the ball. 

“Okay, we have to see who goes first. Casey vs Elijah. You each have to throw the ball at the same time but you have to look each other in the eyes. First to make it in starts.” Bryce stands to one side as Casey gets ready to throw, her tongue poking out between her teeth and a determined look on her face. “Ready? Three, two, one, go!” 

They both throw the balls and Casey’s bounces off the edge of a cup, Elijah’s goes in. “Shit.” He hears Casey mutter. 

Bryce laughs, “Don’t worry, we’ve still got this.” 

She raises an eyebrow at him, “You better hope so.” 

Elijah and Rosa throw their balls and manage to get one in between them. Casey picks up the drink, the ball still in the cup and hands it to Bryce. “Show me what you got, Magic Hands.” 

She’s looking right at him, her dark eyes shining. His eyes flicker between hers as he wraps his hand around the cup. “Let’s do this.” He downs the beer and grabs the ball out of the cup. With one last look at Casey, he throws the ball in a perfect arc and into the front cup. 

He looks back at her, a triumphant smirk on his face, and she shakes her head. She tosses the other ball from one hand to the other and bumps him out of the way with her hip, “You’re in my throwing spot, Lahela.” He moves, but barely, still close enough to feel the warmth from her body. He watches as she raises her arm to throw the ball and he leans over to whisper in her ear. 

“You’re never going to get it in like that.” 

She falters and throws the ball, it misses the table entirely. 

“Told ya.” He smirks. She turns to him, a scowl on her face, though it’s threatening to become a smile. 

She pushes him lightly. “You’re supposed to be on my team, how are we going to win if you distract me like that?” 

“Well, not everyone can be naturally blessed like me, but I could teach you a couple moves.” 

A shout comes from across the table. “Hey Lahela.” They both look up. “That’s two more drinks for you and our balls back please.” Rosa and Elijah high five. 

When it’s their turn again, Casey pulls Bryce towards her. “Go on then.” She moves in front of him and turns her head back to look at him, “Show me.” 

He swallows hard and watches as Casey bites her lip. “Okay.” He moves closer behind her and reaches forward, he tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and bends forward so he can whisper in her ear. He watches as a shiver runs down her and he runs his fingers down her arm. “You want to have one foot back, distribute your weight. That’s right. Then it’s all in the wrist, keep it loose and follow through.” He picks up the other ball and demonstrates, not moving away from her, and throws the ball into one of the cups. “Now you try.” 

She lifts her arm, throws the ball and it soars through the air and into the cup next to Bryce’s ball. “Perfect.” 

She turns around and grins at him. “You’re good at that.” 

“I’m good at a lot of things.” She raises an eyebrow and steps away. He breathes in the air that smells of her lingering shampoo and turns away. 

The rest of the game is close and eventually Elijah and Rosa are down to only one cup. Bryce looks at Casey, “Those two are pretty good!” 

“What? Don’t tell me your confidence is finally shaken.” Casey opens her mouth in mock shock. 

“Not a chance in hell. Look, we’ve just got three left. We just have to make the same cup, and we win.” He steps up to the table, shoots and gets one in. 

Casey passes him and he hears her mutter, “Nice.”

He stands a few steps to the side and says, “You got this, Valentine.” She looks right at the cups, aims and then when he thinks she’s about to shoot, she turns to face him. Looking him dead in the eye she smiles, throws the ball and makes the shot. 

Bryce hears Elijah - “I don’t believe it” - but doesn’t turn to look. She is the only thing he sees in the crowded room, her smile wide now and still focused on him. 

He shakes his head and starts laughing. “We win! We win! You’re my hero!” He crosses over to her in two steps and wraps her in a tight hug. His hands linger on her waist as he pulls away and she looks flushed. 

Before either of them can say anything, Elijah is next to them and they break apart to shake his hand. “Good game, Elijah.”

“Oh you better believe I’ll be coming for that rematch.” 

“Name the time and place, Greene.” 

Elijah laughs and moves away. Bryce smiles after him, watching him greet a group of nurses in the kitchen and get another drink. He can feel Casey looking at him and tries to suppress his smile by taking a sip of his beer. 

When he lowers his cup, he finally turns to her. She’s still watching him and her dark eyes flicker to his lips as he licks them, then back up to his eyes. 

He finally breaks the silence, “So you were just messing with me. You’re good at beer pong.” 

She steps closer, gets on her tiptoes and whispers, so he can barely hear over the music, “I’m good at a lot of things.” 

She smiles as she pulls away from him and walks towards the hallway of the apartment. She’s halfway across the room before she turns back, makes eye contact with him and nods her head towards a door. 

He follows. 

He reaches her just as she opens the door. He steps in and through the light from the hallway he can make out a bed. He smiles to himself thinking he’s in Casey’s bedroom. 

She closes the door behind her and looks at him. He can’t help but stare at her plush lips as she breaks out into a smile and suddenly the few feet between them feels like miles. He takes a step closer, and so does she. 

“So, this whole housewarming thing was really just a ruse to get me into your bedroom, huh?” 

She snorts and pushes his chest. He catches her hand, holding it against him. “You’re cocky little shit, you know that, Lahela?” 

He’s about to open his mouth to say ‘ _ and you love it, Valentine’ _ when she pushes him backwards and he finds himself pressed up against the door. She moves closer, her other hand running up his chest and lightly grazing his neck. He can feel his heart beating, fast, and wonders if she can feel it too. 

Her hand is in his hair now, and pulling his face down to meet hers. She stops just before they meet, her eyes flickering between his and all smiles are gone. 

They’re so close, their breath is mingling and lips are almost grazing. He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her body closer so he can feel more of her. 

Bryce leans in to Casey to finally close that gap, nudging her nose with his, eyes flickering shut, ghosting over her perfect lips, when - 

“Casey?” 

They hear Jackie’s voice from outside the door. 

They both let out a breath and Casey pulls away slightly. Bryce rests his forehead on hers and he hears her mutter, “Shit.” 

“Hey, has anyone seen Casey?” Another voice joins Jackie’s now, and he is sure that if they wait another moment the entire party is going to be trying to find her. 

He loosens his grip on her and whispers, “Go.” 

She leans back and looks at him, grimacing. “I’m sorry.” 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s your party, you should be out there after all.” 

“Yeah…” 

They untangle themselves and Casey looks in her mirror, fixing her smudged lipstick. Bryce moves to the side and she reaches for the door handle, then looks back at him. 

“Stay here for a second after I leave, yeah? I don’t want to deal with everyone knowing about…” She trails off, gesturing between the two of them. He nods in response. “But, uh…” She looks him up and down, “Don’t disappear on me. Find me later?” 

He feels that swooping sensation again, the one he’s now just associating with being around her. “Count on it.” 

Casey smiles and then slips out of the door, closing it behind her.

He hears her tell her roommates that she was just freshening up, and their voices all disappear back into the crowd of the party.

He lets his head flop back against the wall and if it hurts, he barely notices. His mind is just full of her. He doesn’t care if this doesn’t mean anything to her, because for the first time in a long time it means something to him. If he can get a chance, just a taste of being around Casey Valentine, of knowing what it is to care and be cared for with her, he’ll be happy, even if it’s just for the moment. It’s all happening so fast and he feels as if he’s caught up in a whirlwind of her, thoughts scattered and at the same time focussed on one thing. 

  
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a second before shaking himself -  _ you should be having fun, Lahela -  _ and stepping back out into the party. 

**Author's Note:**

> So should I do another chapter on this? I mean... ya'll know what happens next... But I hate that that scene just fades to black and then the next morning. I'll plan to do it and then this'll become an explicit fic and well... just smut innit. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos much appreciated <3


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